BACOLOD CITY - "This coming October, we will give you the best MassKara (Festival) ever.”
Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia made the promise during the launching of the MSME Support Program at the Bacolod City Government Center over the weekend.
The city’s world-renowned MassKara Festival will be staged this year after a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
"Just like in past MassKaras, we will be ready for the influx of tourists. But we promise you, this year's celebration will be bigger,” said Leonardia, adding that it’s going to be another coming out party for the city.
Leonardia said the month-long celebration, just like in the past, will serve as a vehicle for the city to re-position itself as a prime cultural destination and a major tourism event in this side of the Philippines.
Leonardia said they will strive to stage a seamless festival worth remembering, especially that MassKara paused for two years.
"We will get organized early. It will be a MassKara to remember," said Leonardia, who incidentally served as the event's first executive director during the time of then Mayor Jose Y. Montalvo.
The festival traces its beginnings after the 1980 Don Juan tragedy and the collapse of the province's sugar industry, which gave Bacolodnons and Negrosanons alike a reason to smile amid the challenging times.